On the Russian filmmaker’s 120th birth anniversary, a reminder of his enduring contributions to cinema.

If a Google Doodle is the best way to rediscover Sergei Eisenstein, so be it.

The pioneering avant-garde Russian filmmaker was born 120 years ago, on January 22, 1898, and died on February 11, 1948. He was only 50 when he succumbed to a heart attack. His legacy is rich, complex and, in many ways, immeasurable. Eisenstein’s politically loaded films galvanised the cinema of the former Soviet Union and beyond with their bold narrative approach, stylistic flourishes, dramatic use of cinematography, editing and music, and marriage between ideology and the craft of filmmaking. Here are six clips that demonstrate Eisenstein’s genius, his contributions to the art of editing through his theories on montage, and his ability to transcend propaganda to create enduring art.

Strike (1925) Eisenstein’s first-full length feature, made as a silent film, and depicting a workers’ protest at a factory in pre-Communist Russia in 1903. The film is divided into six chapters, draws heavily on metaphorical imagery (comparisons are drawn between dead animals and the slaving workers) and includes rousing images of the labourers gathering to defeat their exploitative capitalist overlords.

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Strike (1925).

Battleship Potemkin(1925) If there is only one Eisenstein movie to watch, it is this one. The use of montage as an editing tool to create dramatic tensions and new meaning out of previously disconnected images finds full expression in this stirring tale of a mutiny on board the titular sailing vessel by its crew. The mutiny soon reaches land, where, at the Odessa port, the sailors and commoners unite against their cruel Tsar. As the guns on the Potemkin fire to protest against the Tsar’s actions, inanimate statues, including a lion, seemingly come to life, astounded by the revolution unfolding before their stony eyes. The Odessa steps sequence, another masterclass in editing, reappeared in Brian De Palma’s gangster movie The Untouchables (1987) and even in N Chandra’s Tezaab (1987).

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Battleship Potemkin (1925).

October (1928) Eisenstein frequently fell out with the Soviet regime over his career – his silent-era films were attacked for being formalist, and his popularity in the West drew suspicion. October was among the projects that angered the Soviet regime that had produced the film. Eisenstein’s account of the 1917 October revolution, commissioned to mark its tenth anniversary, is justly celebrated for its explosive techniques, surrealist imagery, and remarkably realistic crowd sequences.

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October (1928).

¡Que viva México!(1930, abandoned) Eisenstein’s dream project hoped to portray events relating to the Mexican revolution of 1910. The filmmaker travelled to the country in 1930 and shot several sequences that were abandoned after its producers backed out. The director’s associate, Grigori Aleksandrov, put together an edited version of the footage and finally released the film in 1979.

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¡Que viva México!

Alexander Nevsky (1938) A sound film, Alexander Nevsky revisits the battle for Novogrod (now known as Veliky Novogrod) between knights belonging to the Teutonic Order and the forces of Prince Alexander. Its battlefield sequences, use of background music and haunting imagery influenced numerous war dramas down the years.

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Alexander Nevsky (1938).

Ivan The Terrible (1944 and 1958) Commissioned by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, this biopic of the sixteenth-century Russian Tsar Ivan IV Vasilyevich was meant to be released in two parts. The first came out in 1944, and pleased Stalin, but the autocrat banned the second part when it became clear that Eistenstein meant to depict Ivan’s excesses and obliquely critique Stalin in the bargain. The second movie was banned, and was released a decade after Eisenstein’s death during Nikita Khrushchev’s rule in 1958.

“Although it then seemed the anachronistic relic of a long-gone era, Ivan would, by the late 1960s, markedly influence the two most ambitious and beleaguered movies produced that decade in the Soviet Union—Andrei Tarkovsky’s Andrei Rublev and Serge Paradjanov’s very different Sayat Nova,” J Hoberman writes. “Today, this unique work is recognized as the culmination of Eisenstein’s extraordinary and tragic career.”

The cost of setting up an employee-friendly office in Mumbai

And a new age, cost-effective solution to common grievances.

A lot has been theorised about employee engagement and what motivates employees the most. Perks, bonuses and increased vacation time are the most common employee benefits extended to valuable employees. But experts say employees’ wellbeing is also intimately tied with the environment they spend the bulk of the day in. Indeed, the office environment has been found to affect employee productivity and ultimately retention.

According to Gensler’s Workplace Index, workplace design should allow employees to focus, collaborate, learn and socialise for maximum productivity, engagement and overall wellbeing. Most offices lag on the above counts, with complaints of rows of cluttered desks, cramped work tables and chilled cubicles still being way too common.

But well-meaning employers wanting to create a truly employee-centric office environment meet resistance at several stages. Renting an office space, for example, is an obstacle in itself, especially with exorbitant rental rates prevalent in most business districts. The office space then needs to be populated with, ideally, ergonomic furniture and fixtures. Even addressing common employee grievances is harder than one would imagine. It warrants a steady supply of office and pantry supplies, plus optimal Internet connection and functioning projection and sound systems. A well-thought-out workspace suddenly begins to sound quite cost prohibitive. So, how can an employer balance employee wellbeing with the monthly office budget?

Co-working spaces have emerged as a viable alternative to traditional workspaces. In addition to solving a lot of the common problems associated with them, the co-working format also takes care of the social and networking needs of businesses and their employees.

WeWork is a global network of workspaces, with 10 office spaces in India and many more opening this year. The co-working giant has taken great care to design all its premises ergonomically for maximum comfort. Its architects, engineers and artists have custom-designed every office space while prioritising natural light, comfort, productivity, and inspiration. Its members have access to super-fast Internet, multifunction printers, on-site community teams and free refreshments throughout the day. In addition, every WeWork office space has a dedicated community manager who is responsible for fostering a sense of community. WeWork’s customised offerings for enterprises also work out to be a more cost-effective solution than conventional lease setting, with the added perks of WeWork’s brand of service.

The video below presents the cost breakdown of maintaining an office space for 10 employees in Vikhroli, Mumbai and compares it with a WeWork membership.